Photos of this life: Versatility Vol. 3 (Desert Beauty)

As I round out this three part series regarding the Canon 35mm F/1.4L USM I cant help but look back at it with smiles. In case you missed the other two posts they are Here and Here. I suppose this would be the time where I get super technical and tell you all the short coming of such an expensive piece of glass. If thats what you wanted, I hate to disappoint. All I can truly say about this lens is that it's incredible and a pleasure to use. I really don't have anything bad to say about it. Whats not to love about an ultra fast F/1.4 aperture, solid metal construction, weather sealed, lighting fast autofocus, lightweight package? Sorry tech junkies, I'm all about real world photos, not boring lab sharpness tests and distortion charts. My sunday morning was spending shooting portraits of two absolutely stunning women in the desert area of Gates Pass, west of Tucson. Having had this shoot planned about a week in advance I had quite a bit of time to think about how I wanted them to look. When you can pre visualize what you want your end product to look like, you'll find you get a higher percentage of keepers. I've work with Lola before at the V so I knew what to expect when it came to shooting her (she's really pretty). She had informed me she would be bringing a friend along for the shoot, how could I say no? When you meet someone for the first time and shoot them in the same session it can be challenging. That was just the case with one of the models Leila, although my concerns were squashed immediately as we started working together. She is a natural and has this aura about her that I think clearly shows in the photos. I've been to gates pass multiple times for multiple things and I can honestly say this was one of the best. What happens when you let go and just be yourself? When you feed off all the elements surround you? When you get "In the Zone". I feel very confident in this group of photos. Could it be because I had a very expensive lens hanging off the front of my camera? I wouldn't sell myself so short considering all the factors that go into shooting on location (natural lighting, angle of sun, wind, temp, clouds as natural softbox, creepers lurking?, you get the idea) but it certainly helps. I strongly urge you to challenge me and let me know what you think, as I'm curious to know.

All photos taken with the Canon 35mm F/1.4L USM mounted on a Canon T2i body

The legendary Canon 35mm F/1.4L USM
The only thing better than spending a weekend with this stunning lens would be spending a weekend with a stunning woman